Known dictation systems come in a variety of forms.
According to one long-standing practice, the author of an item of dictation uses a desktop or portable recorder to record an analog audio signal on a portable recording medium, typically a magnetic tape cassette. The portable recording medium is then transported to the transcriptionist's desk, where a desktop transcription device is employed to audibly reproduce the analog signal from the recording medium.
Also known are central dictation systems, which eliminate the need to transport the recording medium from the author's working quarters to the transcriptionist's location. In a typical central dictation system, a dictation terminal located in the author's workspace is connected by a dial-up or hard-wired signal path to a main recorder. For many years, the common practice was to implement the recorder as either an endless loop tape recorder (of the type marketed by the assignee of this application under the trademark “Thought Tank”) or as a cassette changer. More recently, digital recording on a hard disk has become the state of the art for central dictation recorders. In any case, the recorded voice signal which constitutes the dictated material is reproduced so as to be audible at the transcriptionist's workstation for transcription into a text file.
Central dictation systems can be highly efficient and very convenient for the authors of the dictation, and are often used in dictation-intensive environments such as medical records departments in hospitals. However, for small work groups or for, installations having relatively small volumes of dictation, it may not attractive to make the investment in dedicated equipment which is required for a central dictation system.
It would be desirable to provide a low-cost dictation system that provides flexibility and a high degree of convenience for the author.